Where Belief Stops
by Scifan77
Summary: Continuing where the mid-season finale left off. Tommy is on the mountain to collect whatever is left of Oliver and bring him back to life the same way he was a year and a half ago. I do not own these characters, I just enjoy them :)
1. Chapter 1 - The Fall

_"Seeing, contrary to popular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, because it isn't needed any more." _Terry Pratchett_, Pyramids_

_**Chapter 1 – The Fall**_

He witnessed the fall. The terrible plummet that ended on a ledge. The too-hard landing muffled by the powdered snow. He had been ordered there by his father, but in truth he would have come anyway. Oliver landing on the ledge was unexpected- both good and bad. The shortened descent would limit the additional trauma, but reaching him was far more difficult.

Difficult, but by no means impossible.

Rdo pointed to the path they must take and Tommy nodded. They made their way silently up the mountainside, hugging the trees for cover where they could. If the League discovered their presence they would join Oliver in short measure.

Tommy picked his way carefully along the ledge until he stood at Oliver's feet. He was struck by how little Oliver had changed. Somehow he had expected Oliver to bear the last year and a half as physically as he himself had done. Kneeling carefully, Tommy searched for a pulse. He looked back at Rdo and nodded.

Quickly he began to pack snow into the deep wounds in Oliver's chest and side to slow the already sluggish bleeding. They carried him carefully to the place where the narrow stretch of rock widened. Now, with more room to work, they lifted first his torso and then his legs in order to get a large blanket underneath him. They packed in more snow around the wounds and wrapped him tightly in the blanket, securing it with straps. The long staffs they had used to steady their steps up the mountain were now threaded through leather loops along the straps. Without a word, they each took their place- Rdo at the front by Oliver's feet, and Tommy firmly gripping the staffs at Oliver's head.

They moved as fast as they dared. Half running over the firmer terrain under the trees and closer to a trot or long stride in the open snow. They skidded sideways down a rocky slope full of scree, never once dropping their charge, and immediately picked up the pace again when the ground stopped moving under their feet. They were bolder now that there was some distance between them and the mountain top. Tommy felt the pleasurable burn of adrenaline flooding his muscles as they moved faster with their goal in sight. A small prop plane with camouflage netting draped over it was sitting in a clearing at the base of the mountain.

As they raced closer, the pilot marked their progress and dragged the netting off the plane. Moments later the engine started with a growl as he prepared for take-off. They passed Oliver up through the door to him and clambered in behind. The plane began to move the moment the door was secured. When they were in the air Tommy finally allowed himself to breathe a little easier. He couldn't relax yet though. Oliver was running out of time and their journey had just begun.

*Rdo = Rock in Tibetan


	2. Chapter 2 - The Lazarus Pit

**Chapter 2 – The Lazarus Pit**

Oliver died on the second plane, four hours into the transatlantic flight. Merlyn's jet was well supplied, but the various drugs and cooling blankets simply couldn't counteract the vicious damage done to his internal organs. The breathing tube had bought them time but did nothing to heal his pierced lung. Tommy stilled for a moment, his jaw tightening with the tension he felt looking at his dead friend, strapped to a gurney in the medical bay just off the main cabin. He was hoping to make it a little easier on Oliver. Coming back from the fragile edge of death is one thing, coming back from the dead is quite another.

This would be harder now, on both of them.

"Shut off the IV and bring the ice." He said. "We need him to be as cold as possible now."

As Rdo busied himself fetching large coolers from the back of the plane, Tommy leaned close to Oliver's ear. "I'm gonna bring you back buddy. Don't doubt it. You're not done fighting yet." He straightened and took the breathing tube from Oliver's throat in one smooth motion.

Twelve minutes later Tommy sat wearily in a nearby chair and forced himself to tear his eyes away from the wrapped body and out of the window of the jet. They were flying above a thick blanket of white clouds and the sun was dazzling in the clarity of the troposphere. Tommy felt as though they were in an ethereal bubble skating past the edge of the heavens. "Stay away from the fucking light, ok Oliver?" He bit out darkly.

When the plane finally landed, they paused just long enough to load Oliver and the supplies they needed into a jeep before they peeled away from the landing strip and onto a wide dirt road. By sunset the road had narrowed so severely the jeep barley fit on it. This was troublesome due to the steep drop on their right as they travelled deeper into the mountains. Rdo very deliberately kept his eyes on the road ahead and was not even a little tempted to admire the drop.

Tommy spied the village they were looking for and they both let out a tense breath when he skidded to a halt next to the largest of the buildings. They got out and Rdo was greeted as an old friend by a man warming his hands on the crackling flames in an oil drum. He shifted his rifle on its strap so that it lay more comfortably across his back and offered Rdo a cigarette from a box he produced from inside his jacket. Rdo shook his head and spoke quickly in Tibetan.

Tommy only understood maybe one word in thirty but eyed the surrounding houses expectantly. Sure enough they were hustled into a nearby house which doubled as the local meeting place. He accepted a glass of the local equivalent of moonshine which burned like jet fuel on the way down his throat but staved-off some of the night chill. Rdo jumped up as four large men entered. He greeted them with respect and immediately began the negotiations.

Soon they were back at the jeep handing over boxes of medical supplies – the down payment on their fee. The cash would exchange hands later. The long staffs went back through the straps securing Oliver's body inside its wrappings. Tommy and Rdo put on backpacks and eased Oliver out of the jeep. Two of the men took him easily and they swiftly walked to the western edge of the village with Rdo up front with a third man. He had, Tommy noticed, an intricate series of braids trailing out of his rough woolen hat, and Tommy was sure it held some significance.

The fourth man who walked at the back with Tommy was tall and well-built with a thick middle and yet moved with surprising speed and grace. "Twinkle toes" was also a talker, but when it became clear that Tommy didn't understand much, the man gave up and silently trudged along behind the others.

Tommy preferred the silence as he was beginning to feel uneasy and wanted to reach out with the edges of his senses into the darkness around them. The path was beginning to feel familiar to him. It wasn't a particular landmark or rock, and the path certainly wasn't marked; but he had a general awareness of having been there before. He knew that of course he had, but under the circumstances it was not a comforting thought. Tommy automatically began some breathing exercises as he strode along to calm his mind and tamp down his building anxiety.

For another hour they walked up the mountain, the soft crunch of their boots on the snow-covered rocks was the only noise they made. They stopped in front of a cliff face and Tommy could hear Rdo talking softly with Braids up front while they gestured towards the wall of rock. Tommy stepped past the men, only half hearing Rdo's question to him. He held up his hand, telling them to wait. His eyes narrowed as he searched for something…off.

_There_, he thought.

He took two steps to the right and pivoted on his heel to the left 45 degrees. Tommy grinned, "_Yong_." He said simply. Rdo walked over cautiously and looked where Tommy indicated. He spoke animatedly to the others and they followed Tommy through the gap in the rock which had been so well camouflaged.

There was no snow here and the air began to feel thick and humid the deeper they went inside the mountain. Tommy lit a flare now that they were out of the open air. The walls of the passageway were tall and smooth, and when Tommy looked closer and ran his gloved hand over the wall it shone like black glass.

After another hundred yards and a sudden dip, the narrow passage widened. Tommy realized he didn't need his flare anymore as there was a soft glow up ahead that was lighting the way. He dropped it next to the opening of the exit route to make it easy to find later.

The glow was coming from a doorway on the other side of the anti-chamber. It had been roughly carved from the rock face. There were intricate runes carefully carved all the way around the opening and although Tommy couldn't read them they made his stomach churn as a sense of foreboding settled over him.

"Tell them to wait out here," he instructed Rdo. "They should rest while they can; they won't be needed for some time. Have them keep watch for any trouble; we _must not_ be disturbed once we begin."

Rdo nodded his understanding and conveyed the instructions. Tommy moved to take one end of the poles and Rdo took the other. Twinkle Toes stood sentry by the passageway and the other men settled in and began to pull out some food. Tommy nodded to them briefly and he and Rdo walked carefully through rune-covered door.

The cave was large and roughly round in shape. There were stalagmites and stalactites all around the outer perimeter of the cave so that it gave the impression of walking directly into some fearsome creature's mouth. Directly in the center was a pool filled with a glowing liquid. It was about 15 feet across and its edges dropped off suddenly in some places and sloped gently in others. The liquid which filled it was glowing green with some kind of bio-luminescent properties. It was completely opaque which made it impossible to guess how deep the pool was. The smell was unbelievable. It was as though you were breathing in the liquid before you ever got into the pool itself. The air was thick and impossibly humid.

After three steps into the room and one gulp of the air, Tommy was driven to his knees with a blinding pain in his head which accompanied the searing memories. _Darkness, green fog, struggling to breathe, pain. Shit so much pain. Every nerve burning like acid, breathe. Remember how to breathe. Rage. Pain. So much pain. His father's face. So much rage, going far beyond emotion until it reached his muscles. Using the pain and rage to attack. Fingers clawing at his father's throat, more pain, blackness._

Tommy forced himself to drag more air into his lungs through his clenched teeth. His lungs burned. He pressed the heels of his hands to his head, willing the pain to subside just a little. He just needed to be able to stand. He just needed a couple of hours to bring Oliver back. It eased a little, enough. Another deep breath and he got his feet back under him and stood gingerly.

Rdo watched him silently, no judgment or concern in his eyes. He knew this was Tommy's fight and all he could offer was a calm presence and a willing pair of hands for what was about to happen. They picked up Oliver's body and brought it to the edge of the pool. Tommy had to let Rdo unfasten the straps; his hands were shaking too much and he was having trouble seeing clearly.

It was incredibly dangerous for them to be so close to the pool. Only the dead or fatally injured could enter the Lazarus pits. The healthy would have their life stripped from them in a prolonged kind of agony. There were five Lazarus pits known to exist and this was the same one in which Tommy had been brought back to life. A person could only use each pit one time, which meant he could never step foot in this one again. It was almost as though the pit sensed his presence and was trying to drive him away.

With the straps gone, they quickly unwrapped the body and stripped it of the remaining clothes. Tommy put one hand under Oliver's head and gripped the right upper arm with the other. Rdo grasped the right leg firmly above and below the knee.

"Gently now," Tommy said. With a nod, they pushed and lifted Oliver over the edge of the pit and let his left side gently fall into the strange liquid before carefully easing him deeper into the center before finally letting go.

As Oliver's face sank beneath the green glow, Tommy swallowed hard. They cleaned up the wrappings and put some linen clothes and a towel to one side in readiness. Then they took positions at opposite sides of the pool and sat cross-legged facing the pool.

Tommy closed his eyes and began chanting in time with Rdo. It was helpful to have something to occupy his mind. He didn't want to think about what was coming next. The Lazarus pit was a miracle, but it came at a steep cost. It turned men mad and not everyone who came back was recognizable – in body or spirit. He honestly didn't know if he was helping his friend or not. He just hoped that what came out of the pit would be Oliver and not some murderous monster, or he might have to kill his friend all over again.


End file.
